Allison DuBois

DuBois was born in Phoenix, Arizona, where she attended both North High School in Phoenix and Corona del Sol High School in Tempe. Despite dropping out, she obtained her GED at the age of 16.[1] In college, she worked as an intern at the district attorney's office in Phoenix. She received her B.A. in political science with a minor in history from Arizona State University.[2]

DuBois refers to herself as a medium and profiler, rather than a psychic, because of the negative connotation she feels is associated with the term "psychic". She claims that she became aware that she had the ability to communicate with departed souls when she was 6 years old.[3] DuBois claims she uses this ability to connect deceased loved ones to the living, and also to help law enforcement agencies solve crimes, such as the Texas Rangers and the Glendale, Arizona police department, and that she used these abilities as a jury consultant.[4] These law enforcement agencies have since either denied any such cooperation happened or stated the tips provided by DuBois were not helpful.[5]

According to the TV Guide, Allison DuBois spent four years participating in various tests at the University of Arizona to assist with their studies of mediums and psychic phenomena. Gary Schwartz, Director of The VERITAS Research Project, claims that DuBois has psychic abilities, arguing in the March 6, 2005 TV Guide, "Anyone who's looked closely at the evidence can't help but come to the conclusion that there is something very real going on here." At their first meeting, Schwartz says DuBois accurately described a friend of Schwartz's who had just died. Impressed, Schwartz conducted a series of interviews, including one in which DuBois stated she contacted the late husband of a woman in England, knowing only the woman's name. The woman, after reading a transcript of the session, affirmed that 80% of what DuBois said was accurate.[6] Schwartz published his research in a book titled The Truth About Medium. According to a statement by DuBois, she does not endorse the book or Schwartz.[7]

Skeptics such as Paul Kurtz and Ray Hyman say that DuBois does not have psychic powers.[6] Skeptic James Randi says that people such as DuBois give the appearance of psychic powers through cold reading techniques. For example, DuBois, when doing her first reading of Schwartz, told him that his deceased friend was telling her, "I don't walk alone," which Schwartz understood to be a reference to his friend's confinement to a wheelchair, which DuBois could not have known about. Randi says that Schwartz leapt to an unsupportable conclusion, since the notion of "not walking alone" can mean any number of things, and "certainly does not describe being in a wheelchair". Randi also asserts that experiments that allegedly yield positive results of psychic powers, such as the ones done with DuBois, are not conducted using proper scientific controls.[9][10] In light of Schwartz's assertion that "some" of his experiments with DuBois were performed under such conditions, Randi questions why the rest of them were not, and points to a report demonstrating that a few of Schwartz's experiments were not performed according to standard scientific protocol.[9][11] Schwartz's point-by-point response to Randi's criticisms was published in 2005.[12]

In 2005, Randi offered to have DuBois tested for his One Million Dollar Challenge. According to Randi, DuBois declined his invitation to the challenge.[13] In 2011, the JREF again issued the million dollar challenge to James Van Praagh, Allison DuBois, Sylvia Browne, Carla Baron, John Edward, and others to prove their abilities in controlled experiments, commenting, "James Van Praagh and Allison DuBois have turned the huckster art of 'cold reading' into a multi-million-dollar industry, preying on families' deepest fears and regrets," he says in a statement announcing the challenge. "They should be embarrassed by the transparent performances."[14][15]

Former FBI profiler, behavioral science expert and MSNBC analyst Clint Van Zandt challenges statements about psychics helping law enforcement arguing, "If psychics were truly successful and if their results were not simply the consequence of trickery (at worse [sic]) or good interviewing skills (at best), then why don't law enforcement agencies have psychic detective squads, a real X-Files Unit, or other ways to integrate these paranormal investigative capabilities?"[16]

DuBois's parents, Mike Gomez and Tienna DuBois, divorced when she was a baby. Tienna remarried and divorced again when Allison was 12. In her first book, DuBois writes about seeing her stepdad in public with his new family.[5] DuBois is married to Joe Klupar and they have three daughters: Aurora, Fallon, and Sophia.[17] DuBois believes that her daughters share her psychic abilities.[18]

In 2010, DuBois made an appearance in The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills at a dinner party hosted by Camille Grammer. While inebriated, she made vicious remarks about the other women, and instigated a major confrontation with Kyle Richards.

DuBois is the author of four books dealing with mediumship.

• DuBois, Allison (2005). Don't Kiss Them Good-bye. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7432-8228-4. OCLC 58051272.
• —— (2006). We Are Their Heaven: Why the Dead Never Leave Us. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7432-9113-2. OCLC 67767350.
• —— (2007). Secrets of the Monarch: How the Dead Can Teach Us About Living a Better Life. New York: Fireside Books. ISBN 978-0-7432-9114-9. OCLC 137222773.
• —— (2011). Talk To Me—What the Dead Whisper in Your Ear. Phoenix, Arizona: STTT, Inc. ISBN 978-0-9761535-1-1. OCLC 742361932.
• —— (2015). Into the Dark: How the Dead Help Us Heal. Scottsdale, Arizona: Lucky Maven Productions, LLC. ISBN 978-09761535-3-5. OCLC 973269295.
• —— (2020). Love Can't Tell Time: Why Love Never Dies. Scottsdale, Arizona: Lucky Maven Productions, LLC. ISBN 978-0-9761535-4-2.

• Official website
• CBS.com's Medium TV show (No longer active)
• Netflix's Medium online streaming
• Allison DuBois at IMDb